Applying Practice Principle 4 – Equity and diversity when working with young children with trauma

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Applying Practice Principle 4 equity and Diversity when working with young children with trauma

Reading Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Practice Principle Guide 4 Equity and Diversity, 2012, available at: <www.education.vic.gov.au/earlylearning>.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Evidence Paper Practice Principle 4: Equity and Diversity, Authored for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development by Madeleine Saffigna, Dale Franklin, Amelia Church and Collette Tayler, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, 2010, available at: <www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/earlylearning/eyldf/profresources.htm>.

Study plan

Diversity, inclusion and equity

Diversity is used broadly to refer to the variety of differences in people, including their cultural and language backgrounds, religion, values, sexual orientation, abilities, educational background, socioeconomic status, lifestyles, and gender. Inclusion is the act of acknowledging and catering for difference so that all children experience a strong sense of belonging and acceptance as valued members of the group. The aim of inclusion is equity. Equity refers to every child’s right to participate in all aspects of community life, including non-discriminatory early childhood services.

Reflect on the implications of diversity, inclusion and equity in relation to your work with young children with trauma.

Provide examples of your most frequently used practices to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment at your workplace.

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Use the space below to write the challenges you have responded to in relation to providing young children with an educational environment that is diverse, equitable and inclusive.

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Read, pages 1−5 of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Practice Principle Guide 4 Equity and Diversity.

Complete the Reflective Questions and Discussion Starter.

Talk to work colleagues about how they ensure their educational environment is diverse, equitable and inclusive when working with young children with trauma.

Why is it important to have a commitment to equity and respect for diversity?

List the benefits of an educational environment’s commitment to equity and respect for diversity in relation to the learning and development of young children with trauma.

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Read, pages 6−8 of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Practice Principle Guide 4 Equity and Diversity.

Complete the Reflective Questions.

Talk to work colleagues about how your workplace responds to each of the following in relation to young children with trauma:

• Responding to each child’s unique learning and development trajectory. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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• Having a commitment to equity that underpins partnerships with families and the community.

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• Promoting children’s sense of identity and belonging to family community and early childhood settings.

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• Helping children learn to respect and be comfortable with diversity and difference. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• Supporting multilingualism. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How does a commitment to equity and respect for diversity look like in practice?

Read, pages 9−19 of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Practice Principle Guide 4 Equity and Diversity.

Complete the Reflective Questions and Discussion Starters.

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Review your workplace practices in relation to each of the issues in the following table. Complete the table by noting opportunities for improvements in relation to working with young children with trauma and where you can gain the support or information needed.

Issue Opportunities for improved practice

Additional support required from …

Service philosophy and policies

Physical environments

Routines

Teaching, learning and assessment practices

Supporting children’s first language

Partnerships with families

Partnerships with professionals

Community connections

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Discuss your suggestions with your work colleagues.

What suggestions do they have for other opportunities?

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Who can you speak to about these opportunities?

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Use a staff meeting to discuss how your workplace can improve its practices in relation to diversity, equity and inclusion for young children with trauma.

To gain a deeper understanding of the application of Practice Principle 4 read Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Evidence Paper Practice Principle 4: Equity and Diversity, Authored for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development by Madeleine Saffigna, Dale Franklin, Amelia Church and Collette Tayler, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, 2010, available at: <www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/earlylearning/eyldf/profresources.htm>.

Notes

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